Steal IU's Look: Floral Lace Top and Pink Skirt

Three months after the release, Noona is still enjoying IU's latest album called "23". IU is of course busy doing the promotional activities for her album up to now by doing a lot of show performances all around Seoul (Noona wishes IU to come to Singapore too but oh well). Noona wishes IU well from afar here. But in the meantime, let's check out what Noona is wearing for one of her stage performances in South Korea. IU is spotted wearing black floral lacey top and she pairs it with pink skater skirt. Now, this will make a good cute #ootd. 

Closer look at IU's ensemble. Omo, IU is so pretty. Saranghae IU...<3

For a start, let's look for the floral lace top. Warehouse's all over lace t-shirt looks comfortable and stylish. The top is currently on sale at www.houseoffraser.co.uk with the reduced price of USD37.

The next top that Noona found is her favorite so far but it does not come cheap. The 'Slim Signature" short sleeve lace shirt from Equipment is currently sold at Nordstrom at the price of USD278. There is no Christmas sale on this item too. =(

If you don't want to tuck in your top into your skirt, you may choose the crop top instead. Forever 21 sells this sheer lace top at the price of USD14.90.

Now that we are done with the top, let's moving on right along to the bottom part, shall we? There are not so many alternatives to the pink skirt that IU is wearing. Noona wonders if this is because of the season. Pretty pink skirt is usually easier to buy in spring. But that does not mean there is none available on the market now. The first pink (or rose red?) skirt is sold at www.whitchic.com. The skirt is asymmetric and it comes with a belt. The skirt costs USD25 at the moment. 

The next pink skirt is available for sale at ASOS. The A line pink skirt costs USD57.33 after being reduced from USD93.16. The A line pink skirt comes with a pleat. 

The last skirt is actually not really a plain pink skirt but somehow it looks like it fits the concept of IU's latest album, 23, very much. So Noona decided to just include the print skirt in this post after all. The floral-print crepe mini skirt comes from a brand called MSGM. It is currently sold at www.net-a-porter.com at the price of USD195.50.

Do you feel like 23 again when you are wearing the above clothes? =P

Waiting for my Kpop idol boyfriend

Noona was mulling over her life as a single lady.

Until she found this revelation on the internet...

Oh wow, amen to that, right, single ladies? XD

Noona supposes all the single guys can have it vice versa too? #genderequality

If the revelation has come true, what kind of K-pop male idol that you would like to have as a boyfriend? The sexy beastly type? Or the pretty boy? ^^

Cute Time at Hello Kitty Cafe, Hongdae

When Noona was walking around in Hongdae area, she saw a very cute cafe known as Hello Kitty Cafe. This was not the first time Noona dined in Hello Kitty Cafe as apparently Hello Kitty is such a rich kitty (she did claim she is not a cat) and she has a lot of cafes across the countries. Noona had dined in at Hello Kitty Cafe in Taipei before and she loved the experience so much. Up to the point she was willing to re-enact that experience here in Hongdae. 

Since we visited the cafe quite late at night, there was no queue line spotted and we managed to enter the restaurant immediately. Pretty amazed by the design of the cafe. 

The cashier and the kitchen looks quite similar to the Hello Kitty Cafe in Taipei. Basically, you feel like you enter kitchen belonged to Hello Kitty herself. 

After you made your order at the cashier, you will receive a buzzer. It will buzz when your order is ready for collection. You just need to wait patiently at your Hello Kitty table while taking a hundred over photos of your cute surrounding. 

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None of us dared to order a cup of coffee late at night because we were scared of being owls after that. So we ordered hot chocolate instead. Thankfully, they come with Hello Kitty art on it. Let's call it hot chocolate art. LOL.

We are seriously glutton. Instead of sharing, we order one waffle for each of us. Hahaha. Noona feels gaining weight in South Korea is inevitable because the country is simply filled with yummy food. The waffle on the left has mangoes and vanilla ice cream while the waffle on the right side has cinnamon and caramel and a dollop of whip cream at the side. Noona prefer the fruit waffles but both taste quite tasty as they are served warm. Fluffy warm waffles kind of feeling. 

Whenever you visit Hello Kitty Cafe in any country, don't forget to pop by the washroom as their toilet is simply too cute to miss. 

Do visit them for a dose of cuteness when you are in Hongdae area. =)

Steal IU's Style: The Denim Jumper

Denim is really everywhere this year and even though we are now at the end of the year, it does not mean that is the end for denim conquest. The only denim clothes that Noona has not tried yet is the denim jumper (and jumpsuit but jumpsuit is too bothersome to wear especially when you are in a hurry to the washroom..lol). If you think denim jumper is too old school, you may want to see how IU makes denim jumper works in one of her advertorial photoshoot for SBENU (SBENU is actually Korean brand for shoes but Noona fell in love with the denim jumper first. XD). 

Topshop has a denim jumper in lighter color and it comes with pockets (yeay for pockets!). The denim jumper minidress costs USD 68. If you are not that tall, you can opt for the Petite range for the denim jumper minidress. 

If you want the denim jumper to be slightly longer, you may opt for the denim jumper sold by yesstyle.com instead. One of Korean fashion brands called Honey House offers this denim jumper at the price of USD 26.90. It is way longer that the denim jumper that IU is wearing so Noona thinks it is more suitable for you, tall ladies. 

Under the denim jumper, IU is wearing a classic striped sweater. Forever 21 sells this sweater for the price of USD 17.90.

Okay, finally we have come to the sneakers. Noona really loves Korean sneakers as they come in so many models and nearly most of them are cool. The pair of sneakers worn by IU comes from SBENU and it is currently on sale too. The original price has been reduced from USD 131.67 to USD 78.47. 

This awesome style can be worn for summer so those of you who are experiencing summer season now, go for it! 

EXID's Akiii Sneakers are Now on Sale!

If you have been wishing for a pair of Akiii sneakers, you probably do not have to wait for Santa Claus to come down through your chimney. Akiii is currently having a sale on its online website. And if you also happen to be a fan of EXID, rejoice! The sneakers design endorsed by EXID are also on sale. Woot!

Let's start with the pair of pink and grey sneaker worn by Junghwa. The Akiii Classics no. EX-9 EVO Pink now on sale at 59,000 KRW (USD 49) from the original price at 98,000 KRW. 

The pair worn by Hani on the right is currently also under the same promotion. EX-9 EVO Purple pair is currently sold at 59,000 KRW too (USD 49).

If you prefer something different, how about a pair of Akiii Classic sneakers which is worn by LE instead?

The pair comes with stripes and this is by far, is Noona's favourite pair from Akiii. The EX-7: Black Red is also on sale from 99,000 KRW to 69,000 KRW (USD 57). 

Go grab them while the sale lasts! 

Watching JUMP and Eating Andong Chicken in Seoul

Korea has a lot of theatrical performances and some of the shows are really really fun to watch. So far, Noona knows the show called Jump and Nanta. But she has watched Nanta before when the show was shown in Marina Bay Sands theater in Singapore. So, when she visited Seoul she decided to give Jump show a try. 

Noona bought her tickets online but as you can see, she watched this show back in 2012. Turns out Jump is now shown at another theater located near Seodaemun Station. You can check out the direction to the theater here.

Jump is comedy performance involving a mix of martial arts (including Korea's traditional military martial arts of taekwondo and taekkyeon) and high-flying acrobatic stunts. You don't have to worry about not being able to understand Korean because the show is totally non-verbal performance and yet, you will not get lost. Noona supposes that's why it has been named Korea's most representative non-verbal performance. 

The show involved a story about a family in which every member has the martial art skill. As there are so many performers involved for Jump, the theater will show a picture of the casts who will play the role for that particular timing. 

If you really take into a liking to the cast, you can buy the poster and ask them to sign on the poster. You can see that all of them have nice muscles. Ahem. 

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Once we had enough fun, we were now ready to have dinner. We went back to Myeong-dong area which is near our hotel and stumbled into a restaurant which sells Andong Jjimdak, one of the famous local delicacies in Korea. Without further ado, we found ourselves inside the restaurant. XD

Andong Jjimdak is basically a steamed chicken dish marinated in ganjang (Korean soy sauce). It is actually very spicy and hence, that's probably the reason why the Koreans are eating it with rice (even though it already has vermicelli in it). 

One thing to take note when ordering Andong Jjimdak in Korea is its portion. This is basically a standard portion of Andong Jjimdak served in every restaurant in South Korea. We personally feel that this portion is enough to feed 3-4 persons. Noona immediately feel hot (and fat) after consuming this spicy Andong Jjimdak. If you really like spicy food, you should never give this dish a miss. 

One Cold Morning at Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul

Changdeokgung Palace is the most well-preserved palace amongst the five royal palaces left behind by the Joseon Dynasty in Seoul. Known as a place of rest for the kings (royal villa), this is the only palace which have a garden called Huwon (re: Secret Garden). There were not many people yet when Noona visited Changdeokgung Palace around 9.30AM in the morning. There is an admission fee of 3,000 KRW to enter Changdeokgung Palace. The weather was pretty cold but thankfully, there is sunshine. =)

The main square of the palace is similar to the one Noona spotted at Gyeongbokgung Palace and Deoksugung Palace. Supposedly all palaces in the Joseon era must have main square for ceremony (or death penalty for traitor) purpose. 

If you are an officer of the palace who is living in Joseon area, you must stand according to your rank at every morning assembly. The lower rank you are, the further you have to stand from your king. 

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The unique part of Changdeokgung Palace is its secret garden (Huwon). Both Changdeokgung Palace and Huwon are recognized as a World Cultural Heritage site by the UNESCO. The garden was kept as natural as possible and was touched by human hands only when absolutely necessary. 

The weather was pretty cold that day, you can see the ground is all covered in white snow. The garden served as the resting place for the royals who live in Changdeokgung Palace back then. It must feel pretty good to be able to walk into the garden when you are getting tired from all the administrative work. After all, managing a country is sure not an easy job for everybody from any different period in the world. 

There are so many pavilions like this one inside Huwon. Oh right, I nearly forget. You can only enter Huwon with the tour guide. So you have to check out the tour timings before coming to Changdeokgung Palace. There is an additional admission fee of 5,000 KRW to pay before you can join the tour and enter Huwon.

Things to take note for Huwon tour: 

1. The duration of the tour is 90 minutes.

2. Children (age 6 and below) and people with disabilities are not required to pay admission BUT seniors are required to pay admission fee.

3. Timing of the tours (subject to change)

English: 11:30, 13:30, 15:30  (Feb-Oct) / 11:30, 13:30 (Nov-Jan)
Japanese: 10:30, 14:30 
Chinese: 12:30 

4. Route (subject to weather condition)

Hamnyangmun - Buyongji - Bullomun, Aeryeonji - Gwallamji - Ongnyucheon - Yeongyeongdang - Bingcheon-gil - Donhwamun

The Time for the Owl Sweatshirt to Shine

Even though owls may look kinda scary as they are nocturnal animal, owls can be cute too. There is even an owl cafe in Japan. And they are even cuter when they are used as a design (no real owls are harmed) for the sweatshirt. Owl sweatshirt has been very popular in Korea up to the point that Lucky Chouette has made them their official design. Victoria from f(x) was spotted wearing one in one of Lucky Chouette's event. 

Han Seung Yeon from KARA has also been spotted wearing the owl sweatshirt from Lucky Chouette. 

If you feel like getting one for yourself (or for your loved one) for Christmas, Lucky Chouette is currently offering four different styles of the owl sweatshirt on its website. The first one looks kinda similar to the sweatshirt worn by Victoria above. It is just instead of the black colorblock, this sweatshirt has a touch of soft pink instead. It costs 248,000 KRW (USD 209).

The next set of sweatshirt actually has men's cutting. But hey, it looks good on women too. The Block Bebe Chouette Men Sweatshirt costs168,000 KRW (USD 142).

The next sweatshirt comes with stripes. For those of you who want stripes sweatshirt with an owl, you may want to go for this design. It comes in three colors: black, pink and green. Noona finds the green to be quite interesting. It comes with a price tag of 268,000 KRW (USD 226).

If stripes are too boring for you, how about crossing lines? And don't forget the owl, of course. The techno chouette JQD knit sweater comes with a price tag of 298,000 KRW (USD 251.48).

 

These lovely sweatshirts do not come cheap Noona knows. But since Christmas is coming, it does not hurt to reward yourself once in a while, no? =)

Christmas party dress-code: A lace dress

Okay, winter may not be the right season to wear dress but hey, Christmas is just around the corner. Have you gotten your dress ready for that annual Christmas party? What do you mean you are not celebrating Christmas? Well, to be honest with you, there is no celebration in Noona's office too. But that does not mean we cannot dress up for the occasion right? How about stealing some dress inspiration from Tiffany?

Tiffany is seen below wearing a bright orange lace dress for a store opening for Ferragamo in Seoul. While orange may not be the color that Noona will pick for Christmas party, the lace dress looks pretty good enough for a Christmas party with your colleagues, friends or families. 

Noona personally thinks the best color to wear in Christmas is...black. #gloomyChristmas

But seriously, don't you think black makes us looks slim? If you agree, how about taking a peek at this lovely lace pussybow dress from Warehouse? The dress costs USD 117 at ASOS website. 

Noona also found another lovely lace black dress from UK brand called House of Fraser but it comes at a higher price compared to the one from Warehouse. The dress costs GBP 145 (equivalent to approximately USD 218.50) at House of Fraser's website.

If black is too boring for you, how about make it red? This red lace dress from Topshop has a very interesting design because it will allow you to show a bit of your mid-rift (which Noona guess is a trendy fashion in 2015). The red lace dress from Topshop costs USD 190. 

Hmm? You think black works better for you. Then, let's go back to the black, shall we? The last lace dress is an A-line dress, which we all know able to work wonder to hide our imperfection. The crop top lace mini skater dress from ASOS costs USD 104.

Which lace dress is your favorite? Are you going to wear them for Christmas party? ^^